2005 vintage guide for Germany

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Weather Conditions

The current mood in Germany ’s wine estates and cooperatives is one of great satisfaction – not least because the 2005 vintage is already acclaimed as being exceptionally good.
‘This year is unique: seldom has there been such unanimous praise from all 13 wine-growing regions about the quality of the grape crop,’ said Armin Göring, managing director of the German Wine Institute in Mainz. ‘The majority of must weights are of Prädikat wine quality and some come very close to those of vintage 2003.’
Göring attributes this positive outcome to the extraordinarily sunny year. According to the German Weather Service, the collective number of sun hours recorded from March through October exceeded the long-term average for an entire year. This enabled the grapes to ripen about two weeks ahead of schedule. Precipitation during the harvest in September helped speed up the harvest so that the grapes could be gathered while still healthy. Franconian wine-growers claim that it was the shortest harvest in history.